The Best Disney Cruise Tips, Secrets And Hacks Every Cruiser Needs To Know

December 28, 2018 By Cori

These Disney Cruise tips are things I wish I had known on my first cruise and I’ve updated them for 2019-2020 cruisers! They elevate the cruise from amazing to unforgettable. So read on and don’t forget to pin this post so you can find it later when you plan your Disney cruise!

I LOVE Disney Cruises!

There is nothing like a Disney Cruise and I am sooo excited to say we are planning our THIRD (and this time with friends! Cannot wait!)

I’ve written about our experience onboard the Fantasy and Dream here on the blog and have posted a few (ok– a lot) of our Disney Cruise pictures on Instagram too, but one thing I’ve yet to do, but have been meaning to for quite sometimes is share the Disney Cruise tips and secrets that we found to be total game changers– because as with any Disney Vacation, a little insight and planning can go a long way!

So now being a two-time Disney Cruise Line veteran, I finally sat down and put it all in one post!

Enjoy!

Disney Cruise Tips And Secrets

Here are all my tips and hacks in one post. Follow all of them and you’ll have a seriously magical experience!

1. Join Your Sailing’s Facebook Group

I have no idea if this even existed for our first sailing but we found it for our second and it was great to be able to connect with other families sailing and post questions to see what others were planning for excursions, etc.

These groups typically also organize things like wine tastings, meet-ups and a “Fish Extender” program– which is a lot like a Secret Santa where you leave each other small inexpensive Disney themed gifts. We did not participate in the Fish Extenderprogram but I know people who have and said their kids had a lot of fun finding surprise gifts waiting for them at their cabin door.

The Facebook groups are not an official Disney group and you can be as active or inactive as you want, but it is definitely a great resource to keep on top of all the planning and prep. You can find the group usually by searching something like “Disney Cruise NY-San Juan Magic November 2016”

2. Personalize Your Cabin Door

Get personalized cabin door magnets like these here-> Disney Cruise Mickey Door Magnets

This is something we totally had no idea about the first time around. Die-hard Disney fans and cruisers go all out with their magnetic cabin doors. It’s a lot of fun to see how everyone personalizes them with magnets showing off their past cruises and favorite Disney Characters. People really get creative!

Disney Cruise Door Magnets

Decorating the cabin door also goes hand in hand with those fish extenders. You can make your own cabin door fish extender or purchase them along with magnets one on Etsy!

3. Pre-order Pins To Trade In Bulk

From a young age, our kids have been big on pin-trading with cast members and other kids when we go on Disney vacations. It gives them something to always be on the look out for and in some cases can keep them excited when waiting on lines for characters, etc. but buying pins can get costly in Disney stores (usually around $12.99 and up for a small set of 3?).

We were given the tip of purchasing bags of them for $25 on Amazon and Ebay from a fellow cruiser on our first sailing and it totally paid off! We purchased 50 for a fraction of the store cost and split them up between all of the kids we were sailing with.

Available on Amazon

The other plus side to ordering in bulk is a lot of the time you get pins you don’t mind trading them. When you purchase them you usually buy ones your kids really love and don’t want to part with. Remember: The fun of it is hunting down and finding ones that wow-them.

We were surprised at how into it the older kids (11/12 years old) got into it– you just never know what will be a hit or miss with middle schoolers– but they had a lot of fun with it!

Also- when you board everyone is given a lanyard to hold your room key, we had our kids use this lanyard to hold their pins instead of wearing two– so no need to purchase a special one for pins!

4. Register For Kids Clubs & Special Character Meet And Greets Before Your Sailing

You can register your kids for the kids club at any time during your cruise, but it is definitely easier to get it out of the way and do it ahead of time online vs. having to wait and registering them at the Kids Club where other people are dropping off and picking up.

When you register online, you are able to get your kids Mickey bands along with your key to world cards right at embarkation! Easy peasy!

There may be special character meet and greets and other limited guest happenings you need to register for in advance, so be sure to stay on top of that.

For our sailing, we had a princess meet and greet and a Frozen meet and greet that we signed up for. There are TONS of meet and greets you don’t need to sign up for and lines aren’t crazy but this just makes it a little easier.

Our last sailing was also the first Merrytime Christmas cruise, so they built GI-NORMOUS gingerbread house in the main lobby area and there were tickets you could have signed up for to help decorate it– which we regrettably missed!

5. Prep Your Carry On Bag With Essentials

Embarking is pretty seamless but it can take a little while for all of your bags to arrive on day one. So it is always a good idea to be prepared with essentials (like a change of clothes, sunscreen, flip-flops) that you may need in the first few hours on board.

6. Download The Navigator App

The Navigator app is pretty amazing.

This Disney Cruise app will give you a run down of all the day’s activities and also allow you to keep in contact with friends and family on the ship.

When you board or while you are waiting to board, download the app and set it up with all of the people in your group so that you can continue to communicate via “text” on the ship while you don’t have cell phone service. There are fun Disney emojis with the Navigator app, which I added ahead of everyone’s name when putting them into my contacts.

Texting via the app was SO much easier that trying to use the room’s wave phones– which you have to use the old school AAABBBCC type texting from years ago– which felt completely foreign to us on our first cruise. You would cry laughing if you saw our lame attempts to text via the wave phone because neither of us could remember how to space words. So our texts looked like “WeAreByThePoolMeetUsAt12”. It’s funny how quickly things like that, that use to come so easy are quickly forgotten. The wave phone is still needed for the kids club and day care to communicate with parents but thankfully, you don’t need to use it for texting!

7. Pillowcase or Picture frame For Character Signatures

Available via Teeny Tiny Fashions on Etsy

If you bring a blank pillowcase, autograph book or picture frame with mat and leave it on your bed with a note, your stateroom host will be sure all the Characters on board sign it and they will deliver it back to you will all signatures.

8. Maximize Your MBs With This Disney Cruise WiFi Hack

Overall, I do not recommend wifi on board– like at all. I had to purchase a package this time around and I was floored by how quickly it was all used up when I only sent and received 10-15 texts!

That being said IF YOU REALLY NEED IT, I do have a bit of a Wifi hack to share. Here is what you need to do to make those MBs last.

Before your purchase on your phone stop by the Wifi desk near guest services and ask them for a copy of instructions on how/what apps and settings to change to help maximize your data.

For instance, if you don’t change your settings every time you turn on wifi your phone may automatically try to download all of your emails. If you are like me with an inbox of hundreds of unread emails, this is a nightmare and will gobble up that data in no time without you even knowing it.

9. Dine Earlier With Little Ones

If your children are small, especially if they are toddlers, I recommend the earlier seating for dinner.

That being said, if your child is in one of the kids’ clubs at dinner time, it’s helpful to know that you can ask your waiter can send food to “It’s A Small World” and the clubs also serve meals at certain times. Just be sure to ask when those times are and if you need to have your waiter send food to the nursery, ask them before you sit down.

10. Castmember Tipping On Your Disney Cruise

Tips are automatically added to your final bill for four people: Your 3 dinner servers and your stateroom host. Towards the end of your cruise, they will leave envelopes on your bed for these 4 tips. You can choose to just put in a small note and prepaid voucher or add cash– though additional cash is not necessary.

Cast members who work in the Oceaneer Club and It’s A Small world are not included in prepaid tips and I’ve heard they are supposed to politely decline any tips offered. That being said, we tipped the sitters in “It’s a Small World” and they didn’t turn it down– I was glad they didn’t. I was extremely impressed by the sitters and they literally saved our vacation because Avery (who just turned 3 days before the sailing) was overwhelmed by The Oceaneers Club. $9/hr and worth every.single.penny.

11. Take Advantage Of The Laundry Facilities

Now I know this is kind of a personal preference, but with a family of five being able to go home with suitcases of clean laundry is kind of the best feeling in the world. There are washers and dryers onboard that I highly recommend taking advantage of at least 2 days before your final day. If you wait til the before you leave, you will no doubt run into an issue finding a free machine.

Products from Amazon.com

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More Travel Tips

Now that you know everything you need to know about how to make your Disney cruise EPIC, here are some more travel tips for more vacation fun!

Mystic Connecticut – Family Travel
3 Fun Things to Do in Hollywood with Kids
What First-Time Guests Need to Know about Airbnb

How To Slay The Holidays and End Holiday Shopping Procrastination!

December 1, 2018 By Cori

This post was written in partnership with The Mills At Jersey Gardens

Holiday shopping procrastination is a vicious cycle, am I right?

We start out with the best of intentions. Then our calendars and to-do lists fill up, social events, cookie exchanges… we miss that flash one flash sale… and thennnn the procrastinating begins and we begin to avoid our shopping list– or at least certain items… like. the. plague.

I’ve been guilty of this more times than I like to admit, but there is a silver lining in everything, right? And being a recovering holiday shopping procrastinator has given me some insight into some simple and effective ways to AVOID holiday shopping procrastinating.

I recently hosted a blogger breakfast at my favorite indoor outlet mall, The Mills At Jersey Gardens for a little holiday fun with the kids (They have THE BEST Santa set up!) and during the event I spoke with attendees about how we can really slay our holiday shopping list this year, like a pro!

(credit: the always fabulous Erika Batista)

HOW TO END HOLIDAY SHOPPING PROCRASTINATION

Ask for suggestions early so there’s no guessing

When it comes to holiday shopping, there is nothing more overwhelming than having no idea what to get for someone on our lists– and when we feel overwhelmed we tend to procrastinate. So send out a quick text to those on your list and ask them for a few hints or suggestions before you head out to get your shop on!

Make a list and check it twice

Once you have your suggestions, make a master list and be sure to update it as you purchase your gifts. It is a rewarding feeling to cross things off your to do list, and it will help keep you on task and avoid impulse purchases that can cause us to spend extra money!

Keep your list in a place you see will see it every day

Keep your master list in a common area in your house that you are going to see everyday– like the refrigerator! This will serve as a daily reminder and keep you on track for getting your shopping done!

Map Out Your Shopping

One of the reasons I love The Mills at Jersey Gardens is that I can pretty much find something for everyone under one roof without compromising quality or feeling like I’m “settling” (which always ultimately makes us end up settling on a gift, right?). The less time spent in the car, the quicker we can get our shopping done.

The Mills At Jersey Gardens has department stores like Century21, Saks Off 5th and Neiman Marcus Last Call to individual designer outlets– you can easily find a gift at a great price for everyone from your family to teachers.

During the our blogger breakfast, we challenged attendee to find a great gift under $25 for a ‘White Elephant’ gift exchange… and you guys, the gifts that were unwrapped were incredible; from a Kate Spade wallet to Alex & Ani Scarf to a 3 piece, hand picked travel themed gift from Burlington!

Point being, if you can power shop outlets (especially indoors during the winter!) –––doooo it.

Set Yourself Goals And Reminders

Am I the only one who uses their phone to cover up for their early on-set dementia? I use Siri to remind me of EV.ER.Y. THAAANG– using Siri as my personal shopping assistant during the holidays just came naturally and it has changed the game.

“Hey Siri, remind me when I leave the house tomorrow to pick up a teacher gifts at Sephora!”

Another game changer?

Breaking up your list into smaller more manageable goals!

For example: buying all of your kids gifts by the first weekend in December (before moving on to anything else– FOCUS is key here!) When you’ve completed this small goal it will make your list feel more manageable and make you feel more accomplished and pumped to tackle the next small goal.

4 Lip Balm Hacks You’ve Probably Never Tried But Totally Should!

May 9, 2018 By Cori

Lip balm can be a serious addiction. A quick peek into my every day you can find lip balm in every handbag I own, on my nightstand, in my car... ev.er.y.where.

I’m completely obsessed with this staple beauty product– and I know I am not alone.

In fact, if you were ever about to be stranded on an island and could only take with you 3 beauty items, I’m going to guess that your favorite lip balm (with SPF, of ofcourse!) is probably on that list.

I mean– on a hot, dry, island? It’s a no-brainer. BUT beyond applying it to your lip, it can come in handy on that island (or your every day) if a lot of other ways.

I recently shared a few of the alternate uses I love with a friend of mine and she was totally shocked. You guys, I’m not kidding. Lip balm saves my life on the daily! So today I thought I would share them with you too.

So get ready, because just when you thought you couldn’t possibly love your favorite shea butter lip balm any more – you learn that you can.

Lip Balm Hacks

Tame fly-aways

Fly-aways are THE. WORST. I personally have these teeny tiny baby hairs right up front that do not grow… they just exist for the simple purpose to torture me on the daily. Much to their dismay though, I’ve found that a little dab of lip balm put’s them in their place.

Give A Little TLC to Dead Ends

The summer sun, salty ocean and pool chlorine can really do damage to our locks, leaving ends brittle and dead. Putting a little lip balm on the ends of your hair can soften them up a bit. You can even apply it to your ends before you head out to the pool or beach for a little added protection.

Hair-dye Helper

We’ve all had to touch up our own roots or turned to good ol’ box dye at one time or another. Adding a little lip balm around the frame of your face before you start will save you from getting stuck scrubbing dye off your skin!

Perfect That Mani

Lip balm is ultimately a moisturizer, yea? Well turns out it moisturizes your cuticles just as well as it moisturizes your pout! This can also come in handy when prepping for a DIY Mani. The lip balm will keep paint off your your skin!

Extend Your Fragrance

Ever put on your favorite perfume in the morning, only to find the scent completely vanished by noon? Adding a little lip balm can help; just add a little to your wrist or neck before spritzing your favorite perfume will extend the scent.

Pin It!

credit:flickr

From Sick Day To Slay: Makeup For When You’re Feeling Under The Weather

March 1, 2018 By Cori

Happy cold and flu season– NOT!

Temps are up, temps are down and germs are flying all over the place– and this week I fell victim to a miserable cold that left my skin looking dull, pale, blotchy and dry! THE WORST. So I thought this would be the perfect time to share some sick day makeup tips that I use to make myself look a little more alive, when I’m feeling under the weather.

While I don’t believe in going crazy with makeup at the peak of sickness (we all deserve a makeup free day just resting and watching Netflix– unless you have kids of course, then you’ll likely be watching Toy Story or Moana–HA) – I DO believe in giving our skin a little help when we finally start to feel a little better.

SEE FULL VIDEO HERE

How To Fake Awake When You’re TOTALLY Exhausted

February 7, 2018 By Cori

I la-la-loooove going to bed early, sleeping in late and clocking 8 or more hours of solid Z’s , but there are always going to be days we are incredibly sleep deprived– for a variety of reasons– sometimes a happy hour lasted a little too long, sometimes there’s a little person whom you love more than life itself who takes over your bed at 2am, and then sometimes? We are struck with plain ol’ insomnia.

On these days we often wake up, look in the mirror and staring back at us is a reflection that straight-up look like a guest star on The Walking Dead.

Getting ourselves ready in the morning is part of what gets us going, “wakes us up”, but if we are struggling to look awake, well… it’s hard to feel awake– even with ample amount of coffee (which has practically become a food group for me).

So how do we “fake rested” when all we really want to do is face-plant into a big fluffy pillow?

An incredible concealer is always key (my fave– a little of this stuff goes a loooong way!), but what else can we do?

Below are a few beauty hacks for mornings like these that will help you not only feel put together but will convince your co-workers, friends and neighbors that you’re tooootally rested, refreshed and have your shizzz together!

De-puffing eye cream = your secret weapon

If you don’t have one you love, you definitely should set out to find one because they are a great secret weapon to have in your pocket on these days.

My personal favorites are Sky Iceland’s Hydro Cooling Eye Pads and Kheil’s eye de-puffer. Both of these eye de-puffers have a cooling effect and instantly make your eyes feel more awake. Technically, the Kheils one is a men’s product, but upon finding it on my husband’s side of the bathroom sink, I quickly claimed it as my own.

Eye De-puffer

Frozen spoons

You may have heard of this one before. It has been around for years, but I am here to tell you– it actually REALLY works. So keep some frozen metal spoons in the freezer and on your puffiest of tired eye-days, put them on your eyes for 5 minutes to decrease the size of those designer bags you’re carrying around.

Make your coffee do double duty

Put your daily java to work!

Many of us (myself included rely heavily on caffeine to perk us up in the A.M….. ok, and sometimes in the P.M. too). Well, turns out that the caffeine is an anti-inflammatory and can perk up your skin as well!

Here’s what you need to do:

After you brew your coffee, set aside the grounds to cool.

Once cooled, scoop a bit up and pat all along your under eye area– be careful not to get too close to your eye though– coffee grinds in your is not the way you want to start your morning.

Leave the ground coffee on your eye area for about 5-7 minutes and wash off & Viola!

Up your lash game

Lashes area magic, friends– and you know it. It’s one of the reasons I am obsessed with lash extensions. When I have lash extensions on, I wake up in the morning and feel like I can throw on a little bb cream to even up my skin and walk out the door. Done and done! And that? Is a fantastic feeling.

That being said, extensions can get costly and in my experience can cause your lashes to fall out if you tend to be an eye-rubber (guilty!). In lieu of extensions, place one or two “individual lashes” at the outside corner of your eyes to make them look larger.

And of course, having that go-to kick-ass mascara that makes your eyes pop is also a must. My current favorite for long lashes is L’Oreal’s Double Extend Mascara. This is 2 product works similarly to but is WAY better than– Fiber mascaras that I find always end up UNDER my eye.

First, you apply the white conditioning layer and then the mascara on top. It really makes your lashes look thicker and longer. It can be a little tricky taking off. I find oil-based cleansers or coconut oil works best– but dealing with a bit of a tough removal is better than having it transfer under your eye– right??!

Oh, and the best part is? It is under $10!

Highlight those peepers

Shadow: Be sure you’re are using a light pale pink or white color at the center of your lid. A light pearlized/metallic works great for these days too.

Liner: At the corner of your eye, if you have light eyes–add a white liner– if you’re a brown-eye-d gal like me, lining with white isn’t out of the question but what I find is a bit more natural looking is lining with a reddish-brown liner. Confession: The color I use is actually a lip liner. It sounds weird, but it will look amazing.

Highlighter: For a final touch add just a tiny bit of highlighter or a shimmery bright flesh tone shadow to the corners of your eyes to make them pop.Those 3 steps alone will instantly make your eye appear larger, and thus more awake.

Correct, correct, correct

Color correcting the dark circles under your eyes is a game changer! I love my NYX color correcting pallet. I’m usually masking purplish tones with the yellow but here is a cheat sheet for you:

photo credit | NYX Color Correcting Pallet

After you have blended the correcting color a bit, add your favorite concealer that is at least 2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone & apply it in an inverted triangle shape.

Blue Eyedrops

Innoxa blue eye drops

Blue eyedrops help counteract the redness in eyes– that being said, I’ve tried the Innoxa drops and I do not recommend them with contacts because in my experience it leaves a blue-ish ring around them–BUT if you aren’t wearing contacts, definitely give it a go! I’ve noticed a difference!

This Back-To-School Hack Takes The Stress Out Of Getting Dressed In The Morning

August 16, 2017 By Cori

A few years ago, my kids made the switch from private school to public school. For years, they never had to give a second thought to what they were wearing day to day because it was always the same ol’ uniform.

Getting to choose their outfits every day was a big thing when we made the switch. We never really had to go “back to school clothes shopping” before, never had the tough decision of what to wear on the first day, and the second…. and the third…

So I was excited for them too.

That being said, I knew how our mornings could sometimes be chaotic and that even on the weekends or in the summer when they had the added task of picking out their own outfits– especially groggy and tired in the morning– it could sometimes become a bit stressful

That is why I came up with the idea to create a Back-To-School Lookbook for Delaina her first year in public school– and now going into our 3rd year– I can tell you first hand that it was possibly one of my most “genius” of ideas because she truly used it every week when picking out her clothes.

Making Your Own DIY Back To School Lookbook

Once back-to-school clothes shopping is complete, we set aside a day to do a little photoshoot.

We put together outfits with fun accessories on the floor (a la an Instagram flatlay) , mix and match them several different ways and take pictures of each outfit.

It can actually be a lot of fun mixing and matching and seeing how many different varieties of outfits you can come up with.

Once our photoshoot is complete, we send the photos to print at our local CVS or Walgreens via their App. You can often find a coupon code for this– so definitely check out available online coupon codes for prints before checking out.

We will then go and pick out a small photo album and fill it with the photos.

It is literally that easy.

Taking the time to mix and match and take pics can take a little bit of time depending on how many choices you’d like to have, but it is time well spent because it will save you countless minutes (and headaches) on busy school day mornings.

No need to send them back to go change because their clothes don’t match or deal with cries of there’s nothing to wear.

Just flip through the book, then through their wardrobe and – BOOM! – Ready for school!

hacks